Bite Me
by abcRainbowPie
Summary: Demyx, Axel, and Zexion find themselves as the only people to have survived from the zombie apocalypse that started in their town. Now they're going from town to town hoping to find any others alive. Demyx/Zexion. Side pairings: Axel/Roxas and Riku/Sora.
1. Chapter 1

Weak pounding hit the door as Demyx held it closed. Usually he wouldn't be able to keep the door closed if people were trying to get in. He wasn't the strongest of most, but he at least was strong enough for what was on the other side of the door. Unfortunately, the pounding and pushing became stronger with each passing minute. On the other side of the door were zombies, desperate to get into the house. More and more came to the door, Demyx could tell by the increasing strength.

Most people refused to call them zombies. It had started at the hospital, first thought of as a deathly disease. More and more people came down with the supposed disease and all died. They came back obviously. People didn't want to admit that their loved ones were walking dead, but they had no other explanation. Soon people didn't even go to the hospital for it. The 'disease' became stronger and affected the people faster causing them to die at anytime.

The event had started about a week ago. Most of the town was dead and empty. Demyx didn't leave his house once during the time. Luckily his friend, Axel, was able to get out of his own house and get to Demyx's. Axel stayed with Demyx up until now, helping him defend from the zombies. Demyx being the prepared for anything kind of person had a few guns in his basement. Axel had brought food to Demyx's house, but now most of it was gone.

Axel kept insisting they leave town, to see if there were any others. Demyx always refused because he was too afraid. He didn't care if he admitted that to Axel, he just wanted to stay home. Unfortunately for him, Axel made a point of their ammo being low and that they should look for a gun store. Not wanting to die, Demyx agreed and that's how he was left trying to keep the door closed while Axel got their bags together.

Axel soon came back to the front door, handing Demyx a pistol and a duffle bag. It was enough to get out of the house, but they didn't know how far they could go afterwards. Telling Demyx to let the door open, Axel held up his own pistol and aimed it. When the door opened the zombies made their way in as Demyx quickly moved away and Axel quickly shot each one in the head. Demyx flinched slightly and followed Axel out the door.

Outside, cars were parked along the streets, some of them with broken windows. Windows on some houses were broken as well. A few scattered zombies walked through the streets. Axel and Demyx decided to not shoot them and instead ran pass them. Some of them came after them but they were able to shoot them.

After running from the zombies they had to stop and check where they were and which direction to go in. Honestly, they didn't know if there was a gun store or safe place near. They were deciding on where to go when a gunshot was heard nearby. Axel being himself, decided to go where the sound had came from. Another gunshot was heard and he followed the sound to an alleyway. Demyx immediately stopped him and asked why he was going, both afraid of being left alone and going in the alley.

Axel simply answered that it could mean that there was someone else alive and that they could possibly help them. He walked away, Demyx following close behind, and went down the alley. The alley barely had light in it and got darker the further you went. Demyx had his pistol ready just in case he needed to use it. When they got to the end of the alley it went off in two different directions. Demyx told Axel that they should go back and started to go back, stopping when he heard a gunshot that sounded close.

Axel looked to the right, where a zombie just fell to the ground, then over to the left where the gunshot came from. He was right to think that another person was alive still; he just didn't know who to expect. At his left in the alley stood a boy from their school holding a pistol, another hooked onto his belt. He was wearing his usual combat boots and black clothes. He had a backpack along with a sword on his back. Yeah, Axel never would have guessed Zexion was still alive.

"Well, look who it is," Axel said as Demyx came back over. Demyx looked pass Axel to see who was there and became somewhat relaxed. He knew Zexion, he was smart and could help them. Demyx also had a small crush on the boy but he never told anyone, not even Axel.

"I'm surprised you two are still alive," Zexion said as he put his gun back on his belt.

"I can say the same for you," Axel said. "How come you're still here? It's been a week."

"Checking for survivors I guess," Zexion answered with a shrug. "You two are the only ones I've run into so far."

"Lucky you then," Axel said as he continued to tease the smaller boy. "While we have you now, any way you can tell us where a gun shop is?"

"I was just about to leave," Zexion started to explain. "There's one on the way of where I'm going. Come on."

With that he turned and started down the alley going left. Axel and Demyx both followed him silently. They took another turn in the alley which led them back into the streets. There were more zombies here, but Zexion barely paused before walking pass them. As they walked down the street, some of the zombies came after Axel and Demyx. They each had to shoot them down, sometimes even shooting the ones far off just to be safe.

"The gunshots will lure them to you, you know," Zexion said as looked at the other two over his shoulder. "Plus you'll waste your ammo."

"Whatever," Axel said and shot another zombie. "How come they're not going after you?"

Zexion stopped and pulled a chain out of under his shirt that hung around his neck. "Ears of their own," he explained. "Makes them think I'm one of them, as long as I don't shoot them."

"That's both clever and gross," Axel said as he looked at the chain.

"I'm only using it to get out of town," Zexion explained and put the chain back under his shirt.

He continued to walk down the street with the other two behind him. The closer they got to the edge of town the less zombies there were. It was a good thing for Demyx and Axel since that meant they didn't have to use their guns anymore and a pistol only had so little shots to use. Zexion had only pistols but he didn't have to use them. If he had to kill a zombie he'd most likely use his sword since he's more skilled in that. He'd also use it more than his guns to save ammo, only using them if it was important.

He was glad that he didn't have to explain the ears to the others. They were zombie ears so the zombies wouldn't go near him, that was enough he could tell them. What he most likely wouldn't tell them was that the ears weren't from random zombies. He had woken up and left his room to find out that his family was all zombies. His family only consisted of his parents and little sister. He had to kill them in order to get out of the house.

Of course it hurt to have to kill his parents, but it was worse to have to kill his sister. She didn't do much of an attack; Zexion actually wouldn't have noticed her at first. He was in the hallway when heard her behind him. When he looked at her she was simply standing at the end of the hall holding a doll. Zexion had gotten one of the pistols from inside the house by now and had shot her down the second she moved towards him. It was only defense, but the second he did it he couldn't believe himself.

He had just killed his little sister, the person he was closest to. He wasn't as close to his parents so he hurt less when he killed them. Looking at his sister on the floor, dead because of him, he lost it. The gun had slipped out of his hand as he leaned back against the wall. Slowly he fell to sit on the floor, not wanting to stand anymore. He had cried there for a while, not knowing the time, before he did anything else.

Cutting off an ear from each family member, he used them to trick the zombies. After he got what he needed together he left the house and went through the town. Since he had the ears barely any zombies came after him. He was able to spend more time outside then inside his house where his family was. He actually didn't go back into his house much. For food he had gone to grocery stores. At night when he needed to sleep he'd go back into his house and sleep in the living room. He feared about getting attacked while asleep, but he had to tell himself he was safe with the ears on him.

Of course he didn't want to keep the ears for long, not wanting to have something of the bad memory. He did only use it to get around and out of town as he checked for anyone else alive. When he hadn't found anyone he started to become worried, but when he found Axel and Demyx he figured it wouldn't be too bad. He didn't know their plan of where to go so he didn't know if he should go with them. He decided to help them get to the gun store and then maybe they can plan something from there.

When they got to the edge of the town, Zexion stopped to take off the chain and drop it. He told Axel and Demyx that the gun store wasn't too far from there and to keep following him. There weren't many zombies in between towns so it was safe to go through.

It took a while to get to the gun shop, but eventually they did. Luckily the lock on the door was already broken so they didn't have to do so themselves. If they did have to break in it would most likely set off an alarm and that would cause zombies to come after the sound.

Inside the store the walls had guns up on shelves and glass cases held guns in them. There were boxes of ammo in the corners as well as extra things to put on a gun such as a laser pointer. Axel and Demyx set their bags down on top of the glass cases and opened them. They each went to look at the other types of guns and collect ammo.

Zexion, not caring for the other guns, grabbed a few more pistols and ammo from the corner. He put ammo in the new guns and put them in his backpack along with the extra ammo. Since he had only used one pistol back in town he only had to put new ammo in the one and put it back on his belt. As the others continued to get their own things together, Zexion decided to look through the cabinets. There wasn't much, most of it more ammo and laser pointers. In one though he found a first aid kit and put it in his bag. He also found a box of matches and took that too.

Axel was putting ammo in the guns he got and put them in his bag. Demyx was doing the same but seemed to have some trouble with the guns. Zexion went to the other side of the glass case their bags were on and rested his arms against it.

"Where do you guys plan to go?" he asked them. He had to admit he was curious.

The two paused and looked at each other. "Um," Axel started. "I guess we didn't think about that."

"We just needed to get guns really," Demyx said. "We might as well just go back."

"You do realize our town was the where this all started right?" Zexion asked. "We're the only people to have lived. Do you really want to go back to where everyone you knew is lying around dead?"

"No," Demyx said sadly.

"Where are you going? You said you were heading this way before we came along," Axel said, remembering what was said when they ran into each other.

"I was planning to go through the towns, check if it spread and for others," Zexion said. "Keep going until I get to the river."

"Is that it?"

"There's supposed to be an enclosed institute on the other side. If I figure out to get past the river I'll head there."

"Sounds easy enough," Axel said as he closed his bag and put it over his shoulder. "Mind if we tag along? After all, you're gonna need someone to protect you."

"Yeah, I'm the one who needs protecting," Zexion said and walked around the case. "You two would be good as dead without me."

With that he left the building to wait outside. Axel and Demyx soon came out when they were done getting what they needed. The two agreed to go with Zexion, allowing the smaller boy lead the way since he knew the direction. First they would go to the closest town and check through it and then continue through the other towns after. Once they reach the river that'll be a chance to stop, relax, and clean up.

Zexion, having planned to go alone, was actually kind of glad that the two were coming along. Demyx was always in a good mood and helping others who are down. It'd be good to have him around; Zexion would probably need him in times. Axel wasn't too bad with the exception of his teasing. Plus the two were willing to protect Zexion and it couldn't hurt to have some extra help. Hopefully they'll be able to get through this.

* * *

So here's the first chapter. I'm working on the next chapters of my other stories, mainly Circus Freak since I haven't updated that one in a while. This is just something new to enjoy and to have until the others are updated.

Also, the title is Bite Me, so someone will be bitten in the story later on. Roxas and Sora come in next chapter hopefully, I'll see when I write it.

Anyone wanna guess who I have planned to be bitten?


	2. Chapter 2

The first town wasn't too far from the gun shop. It was probably only about a mile or so, just enough make Demyx complain about the walking. There were plenty of zombies from in between the gun shop and town, a sure sign that it had spread. Actually, for all they know, the 'disease' couldn't have started from their own town. It could've come from somewhere else. Maybe someone went out of town and brought it back with them. Then again, their town was the first place to hear news of it. It would make sense if it did start from their town. They were the only three left of it, showing just how strong the 'disease' went through.

The first town was completely empty of anything living. It was almost the same as their own, overrun by zombies. Each street had zombies walking down it, each one being shot down almost immediately. They went into houses to check for people and there were even zombies in there, probably having died in their own home and coming back.

It was a sad thing to see a town completely dead. Just a simple thing like the supposed 'disease' could wipe a town clean of life. Even though the people were zombies didn't mean they were still there. The zombie they turn into after death is like a sign of their death. They come after you, either bringing you with them or tearing you apart. They turn into living monsters who live for another time just to kill anything alive. With them all over the town it was hard to think of the life that they had before.

After checking most of the houses, the three of them decided to take a break. They were on the sidewalk of a somewhat empty street, a few zombies in the distant but not close enough to bother them. Zexion leaned against a house wall since the houses were right on the sidewalk's edge and Demyx say on the sidewalk by the street. Axel, not really thinking, had leaned against a parked car, setting off the alarm right away.

The alarm shocked them all as Axel quickly moved away from the vehicle and Demyx quickly sat up straight. They both had learned that sound lured in zombies thanks to Zexion telling them. The problem now was that the alarm was far too loud to ignore and they didn't know how to stop it. The zombies down the street were already making their way to where they were and Axel instantly started to shoot them. Demyx, in a panic, went to shoot one but missed, the bullet going pass to hit another car and setting off its alarm.

Zexion quickly moved away from the house, telling the two to shoot back to back. He went over to the first car and took one of his pistols and used it to break the window. Once the window was broken, he shot the controls connected to the alarm, instantly making the car silent. The car down the street still had its alarm going so some of the zombies went that way instead but most still came after them, knowing that they were alive.

Going down the sidewalk, Zexion shot down a few zombies. The car Demyx had accidentally set off was across the street so Zexion would have to go through the zombies to get over to it. He waited until there was a small break in between the zombies and quickly went across the street. Unfortunately, turning this car off wouldn't be so simple since some of the zombie decided to follow him.

So instead of simply breaking the window and shooting the controls, Zexion had to break the window and reach in to unlock it. When he unlocked it he quickly opened it and slipped inside and closed the door, just as a zombie got to the car. Zexion moved from the passenger seat he was in to the driver's seat in order to avoid the zombie's reaching hand. He quickly shot the zombie, making it fall to the ground. Just as soon as that one fell, another came to the window with the same attempt.

Zombies started to surround the car. There weren't many but it was enough to trap Zexion. Remembering about the alarm, having forgotten in panic, Zexion shot the controls and silenced the car. Though the car was silent, zombies still attacked it knowing he was inside. With the zombies outside Zexion wouldn't be able to get out or shoot them from where he was. If he was willing to, he could shoot them through the broken window and leave that way. Or he could hope that Demyx and Axel were still alive and come help him.

Just as he was thinking of a decision, the window of the seat behind the driver's broke and an arm reached in. Zexion decided to risk it and not wait for the others. He shot the zombie in the passenger window and each one that followed. With each shot he moved his way closer to the door and when it was clear enough he opened it and stepped away from the car. Since the zombies were close to him he wouldn't have a good chance to aim and shoot. So instead he used his free hand to take his sword, quickly killing each zombie with it.

Once the ground by his feet was covered in zombies, Zexion took a deep breath and put his sword back in its sheath. There weren't any more zombies seen in the distance, most of them probably having had come over to the cars. Zexion looked over to where Demyx and Axel were. Demyx sighed, relieved for now, and slowly sat back down on the curb. Axel seemed shocked of what had just happened, but he still stood. Zexion stepped over a zombie and walked over to the others. He put his pistol back on his belt when he reached them and sat down next to Demyx.

It was silent for a while before Axel spoke up. "We're lucky you're here," he said. After checking for any other zombies near he sat down on the other side of Zexion. "Who knows how long those alarms would have gone for? Without you we'd most likely be dead."

"Yeah, I don't think we could've handled any more zombies than that." With that Demyx put an arm across the small boy's shoulders. Then, looking down he noticed the other's arm. "What happened?"

Zexion looked at his arm that had cuts on it that he hadn't noticed he received. "I guess I got cut when getting into the other car," he explained. Now that he thought about it, since he was moving so fast he hadn't been careful with the broken window when unlocking the door. "I have a first aid kit in my bag. Can you guys get it?"

Demyx nodded and opened the other's bag. The cuts didn't seem to be deep, but they were open and could get infected. Better be safe than sorry. Getting the first aid kit, Demyx opened it and got the bandages. He wrapped Zexion's forearm gently, making sure not to hurt the other. When he was done he put the bandages back in the kit and put the kit back in the bag.

"Thanks," Zexion said and looked the bandages over. Demyx simply smiled in response.

They sat there for a while, not saying anything. No zombies ended up coming down the street so they were positive they killed most in the town or at least nearby. The towns were all small, not having much of a population. It started to get late. Though they didn't have a way to check the time, they could tell as it got darker. Neither of them moved to get up or move though.

Zexion had ended up leaning against Axel, his head on the other's shoulder. He refused to close his eyes though. It was dark, with no lights from any buildings or streetlights, and he didn't want to be caught off guard. As it got darker, it also got a bit cold. They'd need to get to somewhere where they could rest.

"Come on," Zexion said and stood up. "We need somewhere to sleep."

"Where do you suppose we go?" Axel asked, standing up as well.

Zexion shrugged. "All these houses are empty; we can find a safe one and sleep there."

Axel nodded in agreement and stood. Demyx did the same and followed the others closely. Since they were tired, they didn't go far to find a house. Plus the area they were currently in would be the best since it was clear of any zombies. They didn't go far down the street to choose a house. The one they did choose was the one next to the one they were sitting in front of.

When they got inside the house, they checked if it was safe enough. Axel went through and locked every door and made sure the windows were secure. Demyx and Zexion went from room to room checking if there was any possible dangers the zombies left.

The house turned out to be completely clean. No sign of death or injury. The people from this house probably didn't die in it like most people had. The house had a few bedrooms, a master and two others. Since Axel and Demyx were still being their overprotecting selves, they had to talk Zexion into sharing the master bed with them.

In the bedroom they each set their weapons aside, but still having them close enough in case of an emergency. They left their shoes on for the same reason. Zexion ended up in between the other two, since they wanted to make sure he was safe.

Even though it hasn't been long since they left their own town, it was nice to be able to sleep in a bed. Back in their town they only ever stayed in their homes where they could have their own bed. It most likely won't be an option in times later on, so it'd be best to enjoy while they can.

Axel was the first to fall asleep. Demyx was still and breathing easy, but Zexion didn't know if he was asleep or not. Even though those two were fine and content, Zexion was still somewhat afraid and worried. Since he left the chain with the ears back at town he had nothing to defend him in his sleep and no reason to tell himself he'd be okay. What worried him was that since he was lying in the middle, he couldn't get his weapons quickly if needed.

He also had a lot on his mind still. The incident with his sister was still shocking and recent so he kept thinking about it. Of course he was upset by it, but there's nothing he could do about it now. The possibility of losing either Axel or Demyx also ran through his mind.

Zexion sighed, causing Demyx to put his attention on him. "You okay?" he asked with concern.

"Can't sleep," Zexion answered simply.

"What's wrong?"

"I guess I'm just afraid," Zexion admitted. He probably usually wouldn't have said that, but he knew Demyx was nice enough to not tease him. He'd admit he was afraid, but he'd never admit anything about his sister.

"Afraid of the zombies?" Demyx asked to be sure. Zexion nodded and looked down, breaking eye contact. Demyx, hesitant at first, used his hand to push the other's hair back and then rub his back to help comfort him. "It's okay. Don't worry; we made sure this house was safe and secure. No zombies will be able to get in while we sleep. Just relax and try to fall asleep."

"Kay," Zexion said and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes while Demyx kept rubbing his back.

Eventually he let himself relax like Demyx had told him to. He set his mind on a different, more comforting, thought. In his mind he changed the issue entirely. He had himself believe, if only for the night, that the zombies weren't real. He imagined that Demyx was his lover comforting him and that it was only them there, cutting Axel out of the picture. Once his mind was at ease, Zexion stopped worrying and soon fell asleep and entered false dreams.

In the morning Axel was the first to wake up, probably since he fell asleep first. He didn't know whether to wake up the others or let them sleep until they woke on their own. Seeing as that somehow they had fallen asleep with Demyx's arm around Zexion, Axel decided to let them be and reload his guns. When he was down with that the two were still asleep and he didn't know what else to do. As he sat on the floor by his bag, Axel realized he was hungry. He got up, figuring it wouldn't hurt to go to the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat. He left the bedroom and went to the kitchen.

When the door of the bedroom closed it woke up Zexion slightly causing him to move. The boy's movement caused Demyx to wake up as well. Demyx woke up more than the other and when he realized he had his arm over Zexion he quickly brought his arm back embarrassed. The quick withdraw made Zexion wake up completely as Demyx sat up.

"Where's Axel?" Demyx asked, noticing first thing that the other wasn't there.

"I dunno," Zexion answered and sat up. Getting off the bed he went over to the door. "Let's go check downstairs."

Demyx silently followed the other out the bedroom and down the hallway. They went down the stairs ending up in the living room where the front door was still securely locked. Axel wasn't in the living room so the two went to the kitchen to check. Unsurprisingly, Axel was in there with a bag of chips.

"About time you two woke up," Axel said and ate a chip.

"How come you didn't wake us?" Demyx asked and went to lean against the counter beside his friend.

"You two looked so cute the way you were sleeping," Axel said with a smirk, making Demyx blush.

Demyx didn't say anything in response to that, knowing that if he did then Axel would tease him and say he liked Zexion. After a while of silence, Demyx curiously asked, "What's that noise?"

Just as he asked the question, a zombie came into the kitchen through the open entryway. Both Axel and Demyx moved away quickly from it since they didn't know what to do. Neither one of them had brought down a weapon since they had made sure the house was secure and safe. Not even Zexion had brought down his sword or guns.

Even though Zexion didn't bring those weapons down from the room, he did have another way to kill the zombie. As Axel and Demyx moved to the far back of the kitchen, Zexion got off the counter he had sat on and pulled a knife out of his boot. He went over to the zombie, putting a hand up on its chest to keep it from moving closer, and quickly pushed the knife into its head. The zombie fell to the ground as Zexion took his knife out of it.

Zexion noticed that the zombie had come from the living room. Curious, he walked pass the zombie on the floor and went into the living room. He could hear Axel and Demyx's footsteps behind him as they followed. In the living room they stood silently while looking at the door. It was wide opened.

"Let's go," Zexion said and turned to go back upstairs.

Axel asked if the other two had opened the door, a stupid question actually. Zexion explained that it was still locked when they had come down. Obviously a zombie wasn't strong enough to open a locked door that quickly. If it was the zombie to have opened it, it most likely would've been easily heard and the door would be damaged. The weird thing about it was that neither one of them heard anything like someone unlocking and opening the door.

If someone broke in and let the zombie in then it definitely wasn't a good sign. It meant that there was someone alive out there who purposely let the zombie in. and they didn't let it in to just any house, they let it in to the one they were all in. The person must have watched them, god knows how long, and saw which house they went in. It wasn't safe with someone possibly trying to have them dead.

Once they all had their weapons together and were ready to go they left the house. Outside it was just as empty as it was the night before. If there was someone who had unlocked the door then they were out of sight by now. From now on they'd have to be careful of their actions, make sure the person didn't follow them as easily.

They left the town, only having to shoot down a few zombies now and then. The next town wasn't far away so it was easy to get there, especially since they had their energy from sleep. Surprisingly when they got to the town it was about as empty as the one they just left. They went through it, finding only a few scattered zombies.

When they finished checking the area of the town they were in, Demyx started to say he was hungry. Neither Demyx or Zexion had given themselves time to eat before they left and Axel had only eaten a small bag of chips. Going through the town they found a small family restaurant and decided to check there first.

The doors were unlocked and when they opened them bells from inside signaled their entrance. Axel went to the kitchen in the back as the others stayed in the dining area. It was quiet until a static noise filled the room. Zexion turned to where the noise was coming from and saw Demyx turning knobs on a stereo.

"What are you doing?" Zexion asked and walked over to where the other was.

"I'm desperate for music," Demyx said and turned another knob. He was soon able to get the stereo to play music which turned out to be a slow piano playing. Demyx took a step back from the stereo and listened to the music, getting an idea quickly. "Wanna dance?" he asked and looked at Zexion.

"I, I don't know," Zexion said unsure and looked away.

"Come on. What's the worst that can happen?" Demyx offered again, this time holding his hand out. "Who knows when we'll get another chance? After all, we don't get a school dance anymore."

"I wouldn't have gone away," Zexion said. Their school had planned a dance the following week before this event happened and now somehow they were on the topic of it.

"Not even if someone asked?" Demyx asked curious. Honestly, he was planning on asking the other to the dance, but he never got the chance to.

"No one would," Zexion said sadly, "but if they did I guess I'd consider going."

"Well I'm asking you now," Demyx said and moved his offered hand up a little. "Will you consider it?"

Zexion looked back at Demyx and silently took the other's hand. He allowed Demyx to pull him into the position for the dance, Demyx's hand holding his and the other on his waist. Demyx slowly started the dance, taking a step as Zexion followed. It was an easy enough dance and the two fell into synch quickly. The room was quiet with the exception of the music and soft footsteps.

This time Zexion actually forgot about Axel instead of having to make himself think he wasn't there. His mind wandered to the thought of just him and Demyx. He didn't look up at Demyx while they danced, too embarrassed to.

Demyx was thrilled that the other had agreed to dance with him. After liking him for so long he was finally able to man up and ask the other something like this. Of course he figured that the other wouldn't consider this as anything, but he was still glad he got to hold him close.

When the song ended, the two slowly came to a stop. As they stopped they each noticed that they unknowingly gotten closer than when they started, Demyx's hand now on Zexion's back, the two almost chest to chest. Zexion stepped away almost too quickly, embarrassed more of their position.

Axel soon came in and told them that there was a good amount of food in the kitchen. They each went back there to eat what they needed and left the restaurant. It was still mostly empty outside, but they each kept on guard just in case. Zexion kept his hand on the handle of his sword since it rested against his hip. As they walked passed and alleyway a noise was heard from the shadows. Zexion stopped and turned to the sound, ready to draw his sword, but stopped seeing what stood there. It was a boy, obviously alive, with blonde hair.

* * *

I decided to bring Roxas and Sora in chapter three and create a small cliffhanger. I'm currently writing chapter three and I will most likely update on either Mondays or Fridays, or both.

So yeah. Demyx and Zexion shared a sweet moment in this chapter and their relationship will develop quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

Zexion loosened his grip on his sword and relaxed somewhat. It was only a boy, nothing to be afraid of. Demyx and Axel came over and stood behind Zexion, looking to see what the other was looking at. It was silent, each of them taking in the new person, until the boy spoke up.

"Hi," he said as a greeting to break the ice. Demyx was the first to respond by wrapping the boy into a hug and saying how glad he was that they found someone.

They each introduced themselves, the boy's name Roxas. He asked the group where they were from, since they obviously weren't from this town, and asked of their plans. Axel stepped to answer where they were from and told what they planned to do and where to go, Zexion having to correct him a few times.

A thought came to mind and it made Zexion curious. There was a person out there that had let in the zombie back at the house. It would make sense if the person had gone up ahead to the next town and wait to take action again. Roxas, after all was an alley which was questionable. Though it was a possibility, Zexion didn't mention it, not wanting to create any back tension between the group and boy.

Roxas explained that he wasn't alone, he had a group. He said they weren't doing well, his brother back with the others as protection. As he told this he explained that he was actually just leaving the group to check the town. He asked if they could help and Axel quickly said they would.

"So are you the group leader?" Roxas laughed and looked at Axel curiously.

"Uh, no," Axel said and rubbed his neck. "We don't really have one. If we did it'd be him," he said put a hand on Zexion's shoulder.

"Oh really?" Roxas wondered and looked at Zexion. "I never would have thought, especially after you almost killed me."

"It was simple self-defense and it'd be best not to sneak up on me," Zexion said, starting to send a glare at the blonde. "Now tell us what you need help with and I'll see if we can make it work."

Roxas rolled his eyes and explained his group needed food so he was heading to a grocery store. He led the way to the nearest store which wasn't too far. The way there was easy, not a single zombie in sight. It seemed that the whole town was cleared, which in turn made Zexion curious. Of course he didn't say anything, not wanting to ask Roxas. Luckily Axel beat him to it, asking why the town was so empty. Roxas easily explained that a member of his group had gone through with him to empty it. Axel then asked if Roxas led his own group, Roxas answering that the other was the leader.

Axel continued to ask the boy questions, Zexion listening somewhat. At one point Axel had asked why the other wasn't with Roxas and Roxas explained that he had gone ahead to clear out the next town, leaving Roxas to look over the rest of the group. Curious, Axel asked how many were in the boy's group. Roxas told him that there was him, his brother, two girls his age, his younger sister, and the leader, Riku. He also explained that it was his choice to stay back with the group instead of going with Riku. His brother it turns out wasn't the best at protection, but he was able to get them through until now.

Now that Roxas's group had better protection, the only problem was the lack of food. In the beginning they all had gathered food from their homes and brought it to the place where they are now. They were lucky that they were all able to get together. There were a lot of close relations. Sora, Roxas's brother, and Riku were a couple from before it all happened. Then there was Roxas and Sora's younger sister, Xion, only at age eight. The two other girls, Kairi and Namine, were sisters. They were all friends at school so that added to the relations. If one of the members were to die it'd have a big impact on the others.

When they got to the store, Zexion moved to open the door but was stopped by Roxas, who said he'd do it instead. Zexion, seeing how the other was going to open the door, stepped back and let Roxas to the door. Roxas took his own pistol which he had been carrying and shot the locks, the doors moving slightly. As soon as the bullet hit the locks an alarm went off, causing Roxas, Demyx, and Axel to cover their ears. The sound died quickly thanks to Zexion.

They each looked at him as he held his own gun. "If you plan to break into a store, shoot the alarm," he explained and pointed with his gun at a metal box, now with a bullet hole in it, above the door.

Roxas didn't say anything in response, not wanting to admit he had made a mistake. Instead he pushed open the doors and walked into the store, the others following. Inside they each went different ways, Axel and Demyx both went to an aisle near the left side of the store and Roxas grabbed plastic bags from the check-out stands and went to get what he needed. Zexion closed the doors and followed in the direction of the two from his group.

He found the two on the candy aisle, looking over the various packs of candy and bars. Each one of them were grabbing what they wanted and putting it in bags they got from another aisle. Zexion watched them moved around the aisle, stuffing the bags with candy. He didn't have a clue to what to say to the two other boys. It actually seemed they hadn't even noticed his presence.

"Do you really need all of that?" Zexion asked as he walked down the aisle to stand beside Demyx.

"To eat of course!" Demyx exclaimed happily. "After all, it'll last longer than most other stuff, like bread."

"You know canned food can last long too," Zexion said, folding his arms. "We'd be better off stocking up on that."

"You're right," Axel agreed. He went over to stand at Demyx's other side, taking his friend's bag and pouring what he had in his own bag into Demyx's. "Get as much candy as you can in this bag and I'll go get canned food in this one," Axel explained as he handed Demyx his bag back and walked down the aisle.

"Get a can opener too," Zexion said just in case. Axel only kept walking until he turned and was out of sight. Zexion turned to look at Demyx who had gone back to putting candy in his bag. "You're gonna be sorry when you get a stomach ache."

"And you're gonna be thankful when you start to randomly crave chocolate," Demyx said, zipping up his bag and smiling at the younger boy.

"We'll see," Zexion said, smiling back, and turned to leave the aisle. Walking passed the empty aisles he kept an eye out for Axel. When he found the aisle the redhead was on he noticed that Roxas was also there. Hesitantly, Zexion decided to go down the aisle to join them. "How much do you have so far?"

"I've got this bag full and Roxas and another two bags, so I think we'll be good," Axel explained. "You don't have any allergies do you?" he asked Zexion who in response shook his head. "Okay, I think we're good."

"Okay," Zexion agreed. Looking at Roxas he asked, "Should we get back to your group?"

"Yeah," Roxas answered. "Come on, I'll lead you to where they are."

The three of them left the aisle and went back to the front of the store where Demyx was currently leaning against one of the check-out stands. They went to leave but stopped when something came through the glass and landed on the grand a few feet away from the group. The object was small and beeping, a definite bad sign.

"Uh, what's that?" Demyx asked looking at the beeping object and backing away slowly.

"A pipe bomb," Zexion answered.

"Get down then!" Axel said harshly. He grabbed Roxas and pulled the boy down with him behind the counter. Zexion ignored the older teen's command and instead went over the counter and quickly went out of the store into the street.

"Zexion!" Demyx yelled in a panic and had reached to stop the boy but was too slow. Demyx kept standing, having forgotten about the bomb and had his attention fully on his crush. He was quickly pulled down by his arm by Axel, rather roughly too. A second after Demyx was pulled down the bomb went off. Roxas covered his head as Axel held the blonde close to himself. Glass could be heard shattering from the doors and windows.

Demyx got up from the floor and quickly went outside to check on Zexion. The other boy was standing in the street, his hand resting on his sword's handle, as he looked off to the side. Demyx came up to him and put his hands on Zexion's shoulders asking if he was okay. Zexion nodded 'yes' and stepped away to put space between them since Demyx hadn't. Roxas and Axel came out of the store shortly after Demyx.

"What the hell was that?" Roxas asked, his voice slightly rising. "Are you crazy?"

"Maybe," Zexion said calmly. Looking at Roxas he smirked slightly and said, "Better than being careless though."

Roxas didn't say anything after that, knowing it was directed at him. Instead of saying anything back to Zexion, he told the others to follow him to where his group was. He led them back to the alleyway where they had first found him and walked further down it. There was a turn to the right and soon a door came up on their left. It was a heavy door, made of metal from the looks of it. Roxas pushed it opened and stepped through, telling the others to watch their step as went down the few cement steps.

On the other side of the door was a long corridor, the floor and walls both made out of cement. The corridor turned left and had more steps, leading further down. Soon they came to a mostly empty room that wasn't too big or too small. The entire room was cement, even the ceiling, showing that they were now underground. In one corner were make-shift beds with what looked like people lying down on them. Near the people lying down were a few bags.

"Underground hideout," Zexion said softly, looking around the room, noticing a boy with brown hair sitting against the wall, his eyes closed. "I'll admit it's a good idea."

"Yeah, well I didn't ask your opinion," Roxas semi-snapped back as he walked across the room to the brunette boy.

"I take it back then," Zexion said and moved to lean against the wall by the entry way.

"I'm sensing that you two don't like each other much," Axel said. Zexion didn't respond and instead let his silence answer for him.

"Sora," Roxas said to the brunette. He set down the bags he had in his hand and kneeled down to the other boy. Putting his hand on the brunette's shoulder he gently shook the boy, who the other assumed was Roxas's brother. Sora woke up easily, since he was a light sleeper, and lighted up the moment he saw his brother before him.

"Roxas! You made it back!" Sora said happily and wrapped his brother in a hug. His voice had echoed slightly off the walls and seemed to awaken the others who were lying down. Three girls sat up from their positions on the floor. One girl had red hair and blue eyes and the other her age had blonde hair, her eyes the same color as the redhead's. They appeared to be twins, judging by their similar facial and body structure. Then there was a smaller girl who sat in between the two older ones.

She looked young, maybe around six or eight. Her hair was short, framing her face nicely, and dark, making her skin look lighter and her blue eyes brighter. Almost immediately, Zexion saw a resemblance of the girl and his own sister. His sister had black hair which she had gotten from their father – while Zexion inherited their mother's hair color – and blue eyes similar to the other young girl. Zexion's sister also had a light skin color, something they each had gotten from both parents. The girl here looked just like his sister, and it made him feel the guilt and regret from before.

"Of course I did," Roxas said and smiled at his brother. "Though I did have a little help," he admitted and gestured to the three by the entry way.

Sora, as well as the three girls, looked at the three boys. The girl with black hair jumped up from her spot and hurried over to them, a doll in hand. "My name's Xion!" she told them happily. She grabbed Zexion's hand, since he was the closest, and looked up at him. "Do you want to play with me?" she asked.

"I, I can't," he said. He had played with his sister often, especially with her dolls, and was afraid he wasn't over her death enough to play with Xion. "Maybe some other time, okay?" he offered, squeezing her hand softly. She nodded and smiled.

"I'll play with you," Demyx said kneeling down to her level. Xion smiled again at him and took his hand, leading him to the other side of the room. The two sat down and she held out her doll to show him.

Axel and Zexion went over to be by the others. The two other girls still sat at their spots on the floor, smoothing out their hair from sleep with their hands. Roxas was now sitting next to his brother against the wall.

"So who are you?" Sora asked looking up at the two. "I'm Sora, and over there are Kairi and Namine," he said, introducing the girls for themselves. They each smiled softly at the two older teens.

"I'm Axel, this is Zexion," Axel started then turned to gesture towards Demyx, "and that's Demyx." Axel then sat down across from the twins, Zexion following suit. "So, quite a group you have here. How long do you plan to stay here?"

"Probably only until Riku comes back," Roxas answered. "Then we'll leave."

"If you plan to go to the next town, it'd be better to go now and meet Riku there," Zexion said. "It'll save time. Plus, you can't exactly put all your trust in someone and expect them to come save you."

"We'd go ahead, but we don't have enough equipment to get there," Sora said sadly. "Riku said to stay put so we'll be safe."

Zexion was silent for a minute, thinking of what to do. "This town is already mostly cleared, so it'll be a safe start," he started. "If Riku went up ahead by himself then I'm sure he knows what he's doing. If he's really as good as a fighter as you seem to put it, then the next town might be mostly vacant by now. We have spare guns you can use on the way if you're willing to allow us to help you."

"Will we be safe going with you?" Roxas asked unsure of the three boys he had only met recently. "I don't want anything to happen to either the girls or Sora."

"Wouldn't think of it," Zexion said. "We'll leave tomorrow. Get some rest, you'll need it." With that he stood up saying, "We'll keep an eye out."

Roxas nodded and went over to the blankets Kairi and Namine were once again lying on. He lied down next to them, Sora joining his side. Xion had left Demyx and went to join her brothers, lying down in between the two. Zexion watched as the two boys held their sister and turned to go down the corridor. He went to the first set of steps and sat down on them. Hopefully everything would go well tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

Zexion sat on the steps, leaning against the wall, a gun in hand just in case. Now that he thought about it, it was mostly useless to sit watch. The door was far too heavy for a zombie to open, Roxas himself seemed to struggle opening it. Then another thought came to mind. There was someone out there. The same person who let the zombie in the house and possibly the same who threw the pipe bomb into the store. If they were still out there then there was a chance they could've followed them to where they are now. Even though the chances were slim, Zexion wasn't gonna leave his spot, mainly because Roxas wanted to have his group safe and he had told the blonde he'd keep an eye out.

The corridors were dimly lit and stayed that way with each passing hour. Since there was no source of light from outside, there was no clue to what time it was or how dark it was. After what seemed like another few hours, Axel came over to Zexion, telling the other boy to take a break while he took over Zexion's watch. Zexion agreed and went back into the room. Roxas's group was still asleep and Demyx was now lying on the ground by the opposite wall of the others.

Zexion went to the side to join Demyx, lying down on the floor next to the other. He made sure not to lie down too close to Demyx as to give the older boy enough room. Zexion removed his weapons from his side and put them to the side in arms reach. Taking his backpack he used it as a pillow, even if it wasn't the best it was something. He lied down on his side with a sigh and closed his eyes.

"You okay?" Demyx asked the younger boy. He must have only been resting and not sleeping.

Zexion opened his eyes to look at Demyx. "I'm fine," he answered. "It's just a little uncomfortable to lay here."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Demyx agreed, moving to rest his head in his hand. After thinking it over in his head, he reached to pull Zexion closer, saying, "Come here." Zexion let the older boy pull him over, unsure of why he was doing it or what it was he was doing. Once he was by Demyx's side, Demyx move to lie on his back and pulled Zexion on top of him. He put one hand behind his head and put the other on Zexion's arm as to make sure the smaller boy wouldn't fall off. "Better?"

Zexion nodded. "Are we gonna do this every night?" he asked, thinking back to the other night Demyx had held him.

"Only if you want to," Demyx said with a smile.

"Okay," Zexion said and looked away from the other's eyes. He did his best to adjust his position without moving too much. Once he was comfortable he rested his head on Demyx's chest and closed his eyes. He felt Demyx's chest rise and fall as the older teen breathed and found it soothing, falling asleep shortly. Demyx took his hand that was on Zexion's arm and moved it to put on the other's back, holding the boy protectively and gently.

Demyx fell asleep soon after. Some time passed and Demyx was woken up by someone pushing him. He opened his eyes to see Axel above him. Sitting up, Demyx looked around the room. Zexion was no longer with him and instead was sitting against the wall by the entry way. Roxas and his group were all awake, Kairi and Namine playing with Xion and the little girl's dolls. Roxas and Sora went around getting their bags together. Demyx figured that they were gonna go to the next town and decided it'd be best to get up and get his own stuff together.

It was easy to get their guns ready since they hadn't used them much the day before. The only problem with the guns was that they didn't have enough for all of them. Of course they had the guns they stocked up on at the gun shop, but Roxas and Sora both didn't know how to use the ones the others had. And according to Zexion, most of their guns were louder than what the twins already had and that would attract any nearby zombies. He explained that if they wanted to stay as safe as possible then they'd be better off not using those.

As the others got ready to go, Zexion got up and went over to where the girls were sitting. He kneeled down next to them. "Here," he said and took the pistols from his belt, handing one each to Kairi and Namine. "Use them whenever you need to."

"Are you sure?" Namine asked, holding the small gun in her hands gently.

"Better safe than sorry," Zexion said and got up. If Roxas wanted the girls safe then Zexion figured it'd be easy to give them something to fight with rather than leave them as damsels in distress. Of course he wouldn't go too far away from them either, the guns were in case something happened and they felt they had to use them. He went over by Demyx's side. Demyx, having seen Zexion hand his guns over, asked if the younger boy was sure about that. Zexion only nodded and helped Demyx with his stuff.

"Where'd Axel go?" Zexion asked after noticing the redhead missing. He could've sworn he saw him a minute ago.

"He said he was gonna go check outside," Demyx answered and after he said that two gunshots went off, echoing through the corridors into the room. The two of them quickly left the room to go check if everything was okay. Roxas and the others followed suit.

In the corridor Axel stood with his gun in hand. Further ahead of him lied two zombies on the floor. Everyone remained silent; the girls had walked away quickly at the sight of the zombies, staying at the end of the corridor. Roxas and Sora were just silent, probably out of shock. On the floor past the zombies was a strip of light, daylight. The door was opened, letting in the sunlight as well as the zombies. But it wasn't the door alone letting those in.

"Come on," Zexion said, breaking the silence. "Get your stuff, it's not safe here."

Everyone quickly went back to the room, grabbing their bags and weapons. They left the place going outside. Outside, the sky was mostly filled with clouds, some gray ones off in the distance. The group walked out of the alleyway and headed down the streets going to the next town.

Zexion often checked over his shoulder since Roxas's group walked behind the other three. Kairi held Xion's hand as the little girl held a doll close to her. The thought of Zexion's little sister came back to mind and he looked forward again. A zombie apocalypse was bad enough, but to have a child in the middle of it was heartbreaking. A child shouldn't have to go through something like this. Zexion kept walking, thinking of how he should've just done what he had planned to do back home. He could still do it; he had everything he needed.

The walk was mostly silent other than Sora talking to his brother. There wasn't much of a sign of zombies or anyone living. As they walked it got darker as the clouds started to cover the sun. By the looks of it, it seemed already past noon. The clouds stopped moving, covering the sun completely, but they were gray. After a few minutes, raindrops started to fall. The group stopped walking, wondering whether to keep going or stop completely.

After talking it over, they decided to keep going. The next town wasn't far and the rain wasn't heavy so it wasn't so bad. Before they continued though, Roxas and Sora had taken off their hoodies and given them to Kairi and Namine. Zexion did the same, but instead gave his hoodie to Xion. The small girl smiled happily up at him and put on the oversized jacket. They walked until they passed a sign that welcomed them to the town. The rain lightened up but kept falling.

"Where should we go now?" Kairi asked looking around.

"What if we miss him and he goes back and we keep going and we completely lose each other?" Sora said in slight panic, his words running fast.

"Relax Sora," Roxas said crossing his arms. Sora nodded and took a deep breath.

"If he decides to go back then he'd have to go down the main road," Zexion said. "If we stick to the main road we can run into him."

"These really are small towns huh?" Demyx wondered aloud.

"Come on," Zexion said and walked down the road. The others followed, each looking around as to look for Riku. The rain finally stopped and the clouds gradually moved out of the sun's way. It left the smell of rain in the air and the ground covered in puddles. Everyone's clothes slowly dried in the sun. It felt nice – the calm after the rain – but that didn't last long. After they walked past a few more streets, the grey clouds came back and the rain fell harder.

The group stopped walking. "Shit," Axel said looking up then back down. "What now?"

"We'll have to get inside," Zexion said. "Find a house."

Axel nodded and went to the nearest house. Demyx joined him and they both got the door unlocked without breaking it. Unfortunately the house had an alarm set and it rang out into the empty streets. Everyone covered their ears, not hearing the splashing from down the street. They did hear Xion's scream though. They all turned to her and she pointed at what she was looking at. Zombies, many of them, coming down the street to them.

"Get inside," Zexion ordered. "Find the source of the alarm and shoot it. Watch the door." With that he walked forward, hand on his sword ready to draw it when needed. Demyx quickly joined him. "What are you doing?"

"Helping you so you don't get hurt," Demyx said and held up his gun to start shooting. Zexion didn't argue, instead drew his sword and took out the nearest zombie.

Inside Axel stood watch at the door as Roxas and Sora went through the house trying to find the source of the alarm. After a minute or two a gunshot was heard and the alarm stopped. Roxas and Sora joined Axel by the door. The redhead then instructed the twins to stand watch while he went through the house to ensure it was safe. The girls stood in the living room shaking from their wet clothes. Axel came back, saying the house was safe and informing the others to find a room and change into dry clothes.

By the time Zexion and Demyx were finished everyone other than Axel who kept his place by the door had gathered in the living room and were resting. Once the two were inside, Axel closed the door and pushed a nearby dresser in front of it. Zexion and Demyx went to go find a place to change clothes and ended up in the master bedroom.

Zexion dropped his stuff on the floor on one side of the room as Demyx did the same. They each started to undress, facing away from each other.

"We should stay here until the rain clears," Zexion said. Demyx turned, slowly just in case the other wasn't done dressing. The younger boy stood by the window, looking out of it and not noticing Demyx looking at him. He wasn't wearing a shirt so Demyx found himself looking at his chest. Looking over Zexion's chest, Demyx looked lower to where thin scars came out from under the other's waistline.

Zexion stepped away from the window and moved to lie on the bed. "Tired?" Demyx asked as he lied down on the other side. Zexion nodded in answer. Demyx smiled as he looked at the boy he liked. His eyes were closed so he couldn't see Demyx looking at him, not that he would mind. He still hadn't bothered to put on a shirt and Demyx couldn't stop staring at his shirtless crush that lied on the bed. He just wanted to kiss him. "Zexion?"

"Hm?" Zexion hummed and turned his head to look at Demyx.

So he did. He kissed him.

* * *

Getting closer to the chapter in which someone gets bitten. Any guesses who it could be?


	5. Chapter 5

Lots of dialog! Enjoy!

* * *

Zexion almost immediately reacted, wrapping his arms around Demyx's neck and kissing the older boy back. Knowing it was okay since Zexion hadn't pushed him away, Demyx immediately deepened the kiss. Zexion wrapped his arms tighter around the other's neck as to bring him closer. Demyx then moved his hands, placing them on the boy beneath him. He ran one hand down the boy's side while keeping the other one in place. Zexion let out a pleased whine to the touch.

Demyx pulled back then, in need of breath. He smiled down at Zexion, who was blushing, his eyes barely open as he looked up at Demyx. "I didn't think you'd actually kiss back," Demyx said once he regained his breath.

"How could I refuse?" Zexion asked as he smiled at Demyx.

"You're so cute," Demyx said and kissed the other again. Zexion smiled into the kiss and closed his eyes.

"Can we sleep now?" he asked.

"Of course," Demyx answered and moved to lie next to Zexion. He wrapped his arms around the smaller boy and for once Zexion didn't have trouble sleeping.

* * *

By the time they woke up it was early morning. Zexion got up and out of Demyx's arms, standing to put on his shirt. Demyx awoke quickly after, having felt the other get up and the lost of warmth. They each grabbed their stuff and headed to the living room where some of the others were gathered. The only ones missing were the girls, most likely in another room sleeping. Zexion and Demyx sat down on the couch next to Axel – Demyx in the middle – and set their things down on the floor by their feet.

Sora and Roxas were sitting on the loveseat. Sora looked upset and worried as his twin tried to help him. They spoke in hushed voices, unable to be heard by the others in the room.

"Is everything okay?" Zexion asked looking at Sora. The brunette looked up and it was clear he was upset by the look in his eyes.

"What if something happened to Riku?" Sora said with concern and panic. "He said he'd clear this town but there were still a lot of zombies."

"Sh," Roxas said softly and rubbed the brunette's back. "I'm sure Riku's fine."

"But I can't stop thinking about the possibilities," Sora said sadly. "I dunno what I'll do if I lost him."

"I know what you mean," Demyx said and put an arm across Zexion's shoulders. All eyes fell on them and Zexion stiffened in their sight. "Don't be shy," Demyx said and kissed the other boy's cheek.

"Hold on," Axel said and sat up straight. "Did I miss something?"

"Uh," Demyx started slowly, unsure of where to start. "Last night we kind of got together," he said, doing his best to explain.

"Well, I must say," Axel began with a smirk, "you two are quiet."

"It wasn't like that!" Demyx exclaimed in defense for both himself and Zexion. "It was only a kiss."

"Yeah, okay," Axel said and leaned against the armrest again just as the girls came into the room. The three of them gathered on the floor around the coffee table.

"So what's the plan?" Kairi asked.

"We'll find Riku and get going," Zexion started to explain. "There's a river after this town so there we can wash up. On the other side of the river is an enclosed institute. That's where we're heading, if you'd like your group can join us."

"Okay," Roxas said and stood up from his seat. "Let's get ready to go."

* * *

They left the house soon after, searching for Riku down each street they passed. Like before there weren't any signs of zombies. The group they killed off last night was probably close to the last in this town. After a while of walking the group took a small break, sitting down on the curb or leaning against the nearest building. It didn't take long to hear a shout of "Sora!" from down the street.

After hearing his named called, Sora quickly turned to the source of the call and instantly started running towards a silver-haired teen. Said teen slowly kept walking until Sora was throwing himself into the other's arms. The rest of Sora's group got up and went over to the two who were currently hugging.

"Sora," the teen said, pulling away from the brunette. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We came to meet you halfway," Sora said with a smile.

"How'd you get here?" the silverette asked. "I thought you didn't have enough equipment to get here."

"We got some help," Sora admitted and turned to look at the three further down the street. "Come meet them." With that Sora dragged the taller teen down the street to Zexion's group. "Guys, this is Riku," Sora said once he got to the three. "Riku, this is Zexion, Demyx, and Axel. They helped us get here."

"Thanks," Riku said. "I appreciate you helping them."

"Of course," Zexion responded, standing up from his spot on the curb. "It was the least we can do."

"They're heading to an institute on the other side of the river," Namine spoke up. "We were gonna go with them. How about it Riku?"

"Okay," Riku agreed. "Sounds like a good plan, better than ours at least. We'll go with you."

"Let's get going then," Axel said and put his bag over his shoulder. "The river shouldn't be too far."

The rest got up and got their things and headed for the river. The only noise was the girls talking and the group's footsteps until Sora spoke up again. "Riku? Did something happen? There were a lot of zombies here last night."

"There were?" Riku asked in return. "I thought I got them all."

"So you were okay?" Sora asked for confirmation. "You didn't get hurt?"

"Nope," Riku answered. "After killing off all the zombies the rain hit and I found a building to go in for the night. Though there is one thing I'm confused about. There weren't as many zombies here as I thought there'd be."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked curiously.

"I mean it seemed as if someone had already gone through and wiped out most of the zombies," Riku explained. "Though if that was the case, the zombies' bodies would still be here."

"That does seem odd," Namine said quietly but enough to be heard.

Axel and Demyx both looked at Zexion, knowing that the younger boy still thought someone followed them. The two also thought it as a great possibility, from the zombies let in through doors and the bomb thrown through the window it was a sure sign someone was after them. They didn't have an idea to why and if they did, neither of them spoke it.

The walk to the river didn't last long. Roxas's groups had fallen into what seemed normal conversation to them and other than that it was the usual quiet. Once they got to the river, Riku and Axel had gone down the side of the water to make sure it was safe to put their guard down. After they confirmed that it was safe, the others put down their things and undressed to wash up. The girls had gone further down the river to bathe, just to feel more comfortable.

The river was at least waist high and had a layer of white water going across so that ensured privacy for the boys. The river also had many rocks, which the girls had gone behind to clean themselves despite knowing that the boys were indeed gay. The rocks could also be used as a path across the water if used correctly.

Sora and Riku were obviously comfortable being naked near each other. Roxas did his best to stay away from his brother and the brunette's boyfriend. Instead the blonde ended up closer to where Axel stood, not caring if the two didn't know each other much. Demyx and Zexion had gone to be behind a rock, much like the girls did, to take themselves away from the group.

"Zexion?" Demyx asked to get the other boy's attention. When Zexion looked over his shoulder at Demyx the blonde continued. "How long have you liked me?"

Zexion blinked a few times before saying, "About," he paused to think of the correct time period. "Two years at least."

"Really?" Demyx asked, both surprised and glad. Zexion nodded as an answer. "Hey that's great! I've liked you just as long! Well, maybe a bit longer. I just wish it didn't take a zombie apocalypse to get us together."

Zexion smiled then moved to get out of the water, ignoring the fact Demyx was watching him. Sitting down he quickly grabbed his shirt that he had left nearby and put it on. As he got up to put on his pants, Demyx pulled himself out of the water and started to get dressed too. Once they were both dressed they sat down and continued to talk, Demyx often kissing Zexion. After a while the others got out of the river too and the group remained by the riverside to rest and take a small break.

Suddenly a cry was heard from where the girls were and the boys quickly went to check on them. Xion was on her knees, leaning over the river's edge, a look of panic and sadness on her face. Kairi and Namine kneeled at the small girl's side, their hands on her shoulders and back as to comfort her.

"What happened?" Roxas asked.

"Her doll fell into the river," Kairi explained as she and Namine pulled Xion away from the water.

Thinking for a second, Zexion took off his backpack and kneeled in front of Xion. Opening his bag he pulled out a doll and handed it to the girl. She took it and looked it over while everyone else just watched Zexion. He ignored them and closed his bag, putting it back on his shoulder, and getting up. He walked away but Demyx was close behind.

"Hey," Demyx said as he got to Zexion's side. "Where'd you get a doll?"

Zexion stopped walking and looked up at Demyx. "It was my sister's," he admitted.

"Sister?" Demyx asked slowly and quietly. Zexion nodded silently, his eyes now looking at the ground. "She's gone, isn't she?"

The younger boy nodded again. After a silent minute, he said, "I shot her."

Demyx looked at him, seeing the sadness in his eyes and wondering if he should try to carry on the conversation. "What happened?"

"I woke up one day and found my family as zombies," Zexion said. "I got a gun and shot my parents. I had to if I wanted to get out of the house. Then I saw my sister. Out of panic I shot her when she barely took a step. I could've walked away and let her be."

"I'm sorry," Demyx said and put a hand on the other's shoulder.

"It's okay," Zexion responded and stepped away. "We should get going." With that he went to the rocks in the water and easily made his way across them. Demyx followed and the others quickly caught on and did the same.

By the time they got to the next town it was getting dark and they went to find shelter. Unfortunately, this town was more crowded than the others they have been through. On the first street they were already shooting. Kairi, Namine, and Xion stayed close to Riku and Roxas who were the best shooters in their group. The two older girls did their best with the guns Zexion had given them.

Axel and Demyx were getting more comfortable with shooting and easily shot down any near zombies. With all the guns going off it brought more zombies to where they were and blocked out the sound of the living dead. Once most of the zombies were completely dead the sound of the guns quieted, often shooting a zombie in the distance. Then there was a pained cry and everyone turned to see what happened.

Demyx's eyes instantly widened and he shot the zombie that was biting Zexion's left shoulder. After shooting the zombie, Demyx quickly ran over to the other's side as Zexion went down on his knees. He set his sword down and used his right hand to touch his left shoulder, pulling it away to see blood. Demyx kneeled down in front of him and looked into the younger boy's eyes, but Zexion's eyes remained on the blood on his hand.

"Zexion?" Demyx asked, his voice shaking.

"Just go," Zexion said quietly.

Demyx was taken aback before grabbing Zexion's arm and saying, "No, I won't let you die. Come on, we'll use the first aid kit. We can help you."

"It'll be too late," Zexion said. "It is too late. You can't fix this." He looked up at Demyx, locking their eyes. "The institute isn't far, just keep going."

"But I,"

"Just go," Zexion repeated. He leaned forward to be able to whisper to Demyx. "I love you," was all he said before Demyx kissed him and slowly left. He didn't want to look back, too upset and shocked to, but if he had looked back he would've saw the man behind them.

* * *

Okay, so now that we've found out who got bit, anyone want to guess who's been following them and why? Reviews?


	6. Chapter 6

By the time nightfall came, the group found themselves another house to stay in for the night. The night was cold as well as inside the house, so Riku and Axel went through the house to find any wooden furniture to burn in the fireplace. The others sat on the couch and chairs by the fireplace, wrapped in found blankets from around the house. Demyx sat in one chair, completely silent as he replayed what happened just hours ago in his head. He hated the fact of an apocalypse having what it takes to have him confess to Zexion itself, but to have him ripped away from his life so suddenly was worse.

The blonde still had the boy's backpack clutched in his hand – having been ready to take it and use the aid kit inside and ended up taking it entirely. A few of the others kept glancing at him with sad looks, knowing he was the closest to Zexion. Demyx honestly hated their pity. Even as Riku and Axel came back into the room the redhead went over to Demyx as the silverette started the fire.

"I'm sorry Dem," Axel said as he put a hand on his friend's shoulder. His friend's pity was the last straw for Demyx.

"You don't understand," he snapped as he stood up from his chair. "It's not just because I liked him. Think about our situation. Think about how important he's been during it all. What if he wasn't there back home? Do you honestly think we would've gotten to the gun shop? We didn't even know where one was. What about when I accidentally set off that car alarm? We would've most likely died then if it weren't for him."

"Hey," Axel said as he put his hands up in front of him. "Calm down Dem, its okay."

"No it's not! We can't do this without him!" Demyx exclaimed, wiping the tears from his eyes. "We're as good as dead without!" After saying that, Demyx realized it was the same thing Zexion had told them back at the gun shop. Clenching his hand that wasn't holding the backpack, the blonde quickly averted his eyes and left the room.

Once he left the room he ended up in a hall and continued to walk until he reached a bedroom. Walking in, he closed the door behind him – with more force than intended – and went to lie on his back on the bed, dropping the bag on his way. Sighing, Demyx tried to regain himself. Turning his head to the side he suddenly felt a pang of sadness as memory of similar position entered his mind. The only thing missing from the picture was the boy lying on the other side of the bed.

Feeling more tears build up, Demyx turned to lay on his side, away from where Zexion would have been if he was still with him. He then found himself unwillingly thinking about the other. What did it feel like to be bitten? What was it like to have it take affect? Was it a simple, painless, slow death? Or was it the opposite of painless? Did Demyx leave the one he loved to suffer? Would they see him when they leave the town? Or would Zexion take his own life somewhere hidden for the sake of not being found or turned?

The thoughts were all too much for Demyx as he felt the tears he had held fall. He let himself cry for a while, often starting up again after calming down some. Opening his eyes, Demyx came to look at the backpack he had taken from the boy. Sitting up and wiping his cheeks and eyes, Demyx thought about looking through it. He'd have to look through it to get the aid kit. Zexion would want them to have that, right? Getting off the bed, the blonde kneeled down next to the bag and unzipped it.

Inside he easily found the aid kit and pulled it out, setting it on the ground. Instead of leaving the bag like he probably should, Demyx kept looking. The kit had taken most of the room and there weren't many other things inside. A few unused packs of ammo which would be useful for Namine and Kairi who now had Zexion's guns. At the bottom Demyx found a water bottle that hadn't been opened and a half empty container of pills.

Looking close at the label, Demyx read that the pills were meant to help with sleep. It also said that the bottle was given full which probably meant Zexion had taken the missing pills in the past. Did he have trouble sleeping? Demyx thought back to the times Zexion did have trouble sleeping, but he never saw him take the pills. It always ended with Zexion asleep in Demyx's arms. Demyx wondered why Zexion wouldn't have taken the pills to help him sleep. That's why he had them, right?

Shaking the confused thoughts away, Demyx put the pills and water back in the bag. He placed the aid kit and ammo back in as well before zipping it closed. Then noticing the small pocket on the front all backpack's had, the blonde unzipped that to look in. Reaching in, Demyx's fingers brushed against something folded. Grabbing and pulling it out, he found that it was a folded photograph. Unfolding it revealed a picture of a small girl – about the same size as Xion.

The girl was sitting on her knees, the walls and dolls in the background hinted she was sitting on the floor of her bedroom. She wore a grey dress, the neckline wide and going around her shoulders as the sleeves hung to her slim biceps. Her hair was a deep black and looked naturally waved, reaching to just above her shoulders. Her eyes, a deep blue, were filled with happiness you'd find in any child's. In her arms she held a doll close to herself.

At the sight of the doll Demyx realized it was the same doll Zexion had given Xion. Now knowing that, he looked at the picture in a whole new way. This was Zexion's sister. This was who he had shot out of panic when he saw her as a zombie. This is why he saw her in Xion.

Going to fold the photo back up, Demyx noticed writing on the back. Turning it to read the writing he read, 'I'm sorry. Rest in peace.' Sighing, he folded and put back the photo into the small pocket. As he did so, his fingers brushed up against something else. Feeling for what it was, Demyx gently picked it up from the pocket. In his hand rested a thin, short, sharp blade. Demyx's mind instantly went back to the scars he saw on Zexion's hips. He had figured the boy cut himself there, but now knowing he had brought a blade he wondered if Zexion had self-harmed while with Demyx and Axel.

Putting the blade back, Demyx zipped the pocket closed and set aside the bag. Taking a deep breath he tried to clear his mind of any thoughts about Zexion. Getting off the floor and back onto the bed, the blonde lied down once again, feeling tired. He lied there for a while before falling asleep.

* * *

Other than the light sound of pen against paper, the lab was silent. The lab was a medium sized room, the walls, floor, and ceiling all a clean white. In the center was a metal bed, a boy currently lying on it. He was unconscious, his wrists and ankles strapped to the bed beneath him. A heart monitor and blood IV were both connected to him. His breathing was shallow, but it was a sign of life which was what the man needed.

The man in the room stood above the boy, writing down information and notes on his clipboard. The boy was simply an experiment, a guinea pig for the man's theory. He was the first the man was able to test on so he wasn't sure if the experiment would be successful or not. If it was then the boy would become more than just a guinea pig, he'd be a success in the man's eyes. Though if the experiment was a success there were still the after affects, but the man would work with those he got to them.

As he left the bed's side and went to put his paperwork on his desk, the door to the lab opened, letting in brighter light. Footsteps were heard enter from behind the man's back as another man came into the lab. "As is it going?" the newcomer asked.

"Quite well actually," the first man answered. "The boy seems to have a strong immune system, which helps a lot with the experiment. If everything goes right then he should be back on his feet in no time."

"And what if it doesn't go right?" the second man questioned. "What then?"

"That's easy. If it does go wrong – not that I expect it to – then we'll simply execute him. He would be no threat with his wrists and ankles strapped down."

"And if it's a success, what do we do with him then?"

"He can stay here. It should be no problem. We have plenty of extra space after all, it's not like he'd get in the way. If he likes he can join the others on guard duty. It wouldn't hurt to have some extra help," the man explained. "Now go get some rest, you've done your part."

"Right. Just find me when and if you need me to go back out," the second man said. Turning away he walked back to the door, pausing before leaving. "Oh, and do try to keep your experiments to a minimum. We'll be expecting visitors soon." With that he left the lab, letting the door fall close behind him.

* * *

Yay! Finally updated this story.

So we got some new personal information about Zexion. Anyone wanna take a guess for the pills? (I think it's quite simple)

Oh and we got two mystery men. Take a guess at those too. One should be easy. Another mystery character will come in later too.

Reviews?


	7. Chapter 7

In the morning the man went back to his lab to check on his latest "experiment." He had stayed up late to make sure everything was in check and fine before heading off to bed. Upon entering the lab, the man turned on the dim lights and walked to his desk to look over the paperwork he'd done the night before. After that he set down the paperwork on the clipboard and replaced it with a new sheet. Turning around to go to the metal bed to write down the boy's progress he was surprised to see open eyes watching him.

"Ah, so you're awake," the man said once quickly regaining himself. Walking to the side of the bed he said, "Would you mind me asking you a few questions?" His answer from the boy was a small shake of his head. Clicking his pen, the man asked, "Can you tell me your name?"

The boy opened his mouth to answer, but slowly hesitated, averting his eyes to think. "I," he started. "I can't remember."

"Hm," the man hummed. "Seems you have amnesia. That's a disappointment."

"I remember some things," the boy spoke up. "It's all vague though, I wouldn't be able to tell you."

"That's fine," the man reassured, "I'm sure it'll come back to you in time. Now," he said and reached for the restraints, "let's get you to a more comfortable environment."

* * *

"Demyx?" a light voice came through the room to the blonde's ears. He opened his eyes, blinking to get used to the sudden light coming in through the window. Pulling himself to a sitting position, Demyx looked to the doorway to see Sora and Xion standing there. Judging by the voice he heard seconds ago, Demyx figured it was Xion who had called his name.

"Yeah?" he asked in response as he rubbed his eyes. Blinking once more to clear his vision he saw Sora walk into the room.

"We're all ready to go when you are," the brunette answered. Then rubbing his neck he said, "So just get your things together and come meet us in the living room."

"Okay," Demyx said with a nod. He watched as Sora turned and walked out of the room, Xion close behind. Getting himself off the bed, Demyx found that his bags and weapons had been brought to the room and were set next to where he had left Zexion's backpack. Moving down to his knees he opened his bag and pulled out clothes to change into. Once he was dressed he grabbed his gun he'd use for the day and loaded it with new ammo.

Standing up he grabbed his bags and put them over his shoulders, then reaching down he picked up Zexion's backpack and carried it in his hand. Leaving the room he walked down the hall until he got to the living room where the rest of the group was gathered. They all had their own guns and bags with them as they waited for Demyx to join them.

Looking around the room, Demyx walked over to where Xion stood with Kairi and Namine. "Would you mind carrying this?" he asked the small girl, handing her the backpack he had in his hand. She simply shook her head and took the bag from him, slipping it onto her shoulders. It was then that Demyx realized that she still wore the jacket Zexion gave her when the rain started. She also still held the doll in her hands, much like the girl in the photograph.

Demyx smiled at her and took a step away, telling the others he was ready to go. The area outside was vacant and silent. Riku walked ahead of the group with Sora and Roxas at his sides, the girls walked behind them as Demyx and Axel walked in the far back of the group.

"So where exactly is the institute?" Axel asked to no one in particular. "Are we still gonna head there?"

"Zexion said it wasn't far, just keep going in the direction we've been going," Demyx answered. "I think it's still our best choice. Where else could we go?"

"I think I know about the institute you're talking about," Riku spoke up from the front. "There's another town after here then a small part of the woods. On the other side of the woods is another town and somewhere in between is the institute."

"In between?" Sora questioned. "You mean it's between the woods and town?"

"No," Riku answered then stopped walking, everyone else following suit. He turned to Sora and used an arm to point straight ahead. "That way is town, woods, town," he explained carefully to the brunette. Moving his arm slightly to the right he said, "The institute is that way, on the side of the woods. We'll have to backtrack from the second town to get there, otherwise we'll get lost in the woods."

"Oh, okay," Sora said with a nod as he understood.

"Will we have to stay in the woods overnight?" Kairi asked.

"Possibly," Riku answered. "Don't worry though, we'll take turns on watch to make sure it's safe," he said knowing the girl's concern. Kairi nodded at his words, saying a small 'okay.' They started walking again, silent other than their footsteps.

By the time the group came along the next town, they stopped by the town's welcome sign. Written on it was the town's name and population. "That's a big number," Axel pointed out after reading the population. On the wooden sign beside them read 'Population: 749.' The town after all was bigger than the ones before.

"We'll be fine right?" Sora asked and looked over to Riku.

"We should," Riku answered. "Though this town is by the woods which people go to for camp," he explained. "And it was perfect camping weather when this all began."

"Are you saying there's gonna be many zombies in the woods?" Namine asked quietly.

"It's a big possibility," Riku said. "But if there are then that means they had a campsite which we can probably take advantage of."

"I've been to camp here," Axel spoke up. "A lot of other people set up their own camp. Most of the woods would be full of tents and campers. So yeah, I'd say there might be a lot of zombies in there." At his words each of the girls' eyes widen as well as Sora's.

"Way to go," Roxas said and crossed his arms. "You've got them scared."

"Relax," the redhead said. "Plenty of dead campers means plenty of camp equipment up for the offer. Or we can get our own equipment from the store they have here." Everyone agreed on the latter, that way they were sure they'd be safe and have enough things for everyone. The group silently made their way to the shop, gathered their needed equipment, and left, all the while making sure to keep an eye out for zombies and to not set off alarms.

Once they had all they needed, they went to the woods. Walking down the main trail, they came across a campsite that was already in use. There wasn't any sign of campers and Riku and Axel motioned for the others to stay put as they checked the area. They opened the first tent slowly to look inside and found it empty. Checking the second tent had the same result.

"Okay, this seems like a good place," Riku said. "Enough space for us all and some."

"What are we gonna do with these tents?" Roxas asked and gestured to the ones already set up. "Are they safe to use?"

"They probably are," Axel answered. "But there's no fun in using a tent already set up. I say we get rid of these and set up our own. Have the whole camping experience."

"How are we gonna get rid of these tents?" Sora questioned. "Just toss them aside?"

"We can burn them," Axel offered with a smirk.

"We'll just put them aside, in the woods," Riku said to Sora. "Come on, let's get to work so we can be finished before it gets too dark." Everyone nodded and got busy. Demyx helped Riku move the previous campers' equipment into the woods while Sora and Roxas put up the new tents with Kairi and Namine. Axel told Xion to find all the rocks she could and put them with the ones already in a circle – where a campfire had previously been – while he got firewood.

The tents were finally put up after many mistakes made by Sora and Roxas, fixed by Kairi and Namine. The four then set up the sleeping bags they had all got into the tents while Axel started the campfire, Xion, Riku, and Demyx sitting on the placed logs around the fire. Finished setting up, the pair of twins came over to join the others. Kairi and Namine sat down on one log as Sora and Roxas went to sit with Riku. Axel sat down next to Roxas once the campfire was done.

Demyx sat with Xion and he couldn't help think back to the picture of Zexion's little sister. The two really did look alike. The blonde suddenly grew sad at the thought of the boy. He knew if he was there he would have probably sat on the other side of Xion. He then wondered if the other had ever been camping with family or friends. He was gonna question it aloud, but didn't want to upset anyone else or have attention drawn to him.

Instead he said, "Too bad we didn't get the things to make s'mores."

"Oh yeah," Sora said. Pouting, he muttered, "Now I want s'mores," which earned some giggles from Kairi and Namine.

Riku smiled and put an arm around the brunette's shoulders, saying, "Tomorrow I'll go back to town to get what we need for them, okay?"

"Okay!" Sora agreed happily.

After that the group fell into a steady conversation, telling jokes, ghost stories, asking questions to know each other better, and so on. It was as if they all forgot their current position. Until the sound of snapping sticks was heard in the distance, which put them back into reality. They all went on alert, Riku, Demyx, and Axel grabbing their guns. Roxas, not having a gun handy at the moment, had grabbed the nearest thing that could possibly be used as a weapon.

At the sound of a laugh, the blonde turned to see his sister laughing. "What?" he asked.

"Roxas," Xion started, slowing down her giggles. "That's a stick," she said and pointed to what her brother had in hand which turned out to be a thin branch from the firewood pile. Roxas huffed and put the branch back down.

Once it was silent again, the sound of footsteps going over the scattered sticks and leaves was heard again. It was dark now so they could see exactly who was making the noises. The noise had also come from a different direction, further to the left than before.

"I don't think this is a zombie," Riku said under his breath.

"Why not?" Sora asked.

"If it was a zombie then it would have already came towards the light source," the silverette explained, holding up his gun in case he needed to use it. "Not around. Plus the steps are too even to be a zombie, zombies usually limp or stumble."

"So you're saying it's another person?" Roxas questioned.

"Possibly."

"If it is," Axel started, "then it's possible it's the person who was following us. The one who let in the zombies and threw the bomb into the store."

"Wait," Riku said. "Someone's been following you? Throwing bombs and zombies at you? And you joined another group – with girls and a child?"

"Yeah, so? What's the problem here?"

"You're risking everyone's lives here!" Riku exclaimed. "Why are you being followed? What'd you do?"

"Nothing!" Axel answered. "I dunno why we're being," he continued but was cut short as an arrow went pass him. It hit something and the sound of something falling was heard. Turning to look, they saw it was a zombie, the arrow in its head.

"Um," Kairi started. "Where'd that come from?"

Everyone else remained silent, the only sound was footsteps in the opposite direction quickly fading away.

* * *

"You'll keep an eye on him, right? Stay with him at all times."

"Of course."

* * *

Reviews?

*Note: I've made a tumblr for this account, abcrainbowpie. Check it out?


	8. Chapter 8

Morning sunlight shown through the trees coming to shine across the two tents there. The warmth it gave was enough to stir some of the group awake a little bit. The woods outside was silent and almost calming, but even that couldn't last long. Only have way awake, Demyx heard a scream and woke up fully. Axel woke up beside him and got up with a start. They both moved to get out of the tent, Roxas and Sora soon following.

"What happened?" Axel asked to anyone willing to answer.

"Sorry," Kairi said sheepishly from her spot on her knees by the tent she slept in. "False alarm."

Everyone looked from the redhead girl to a couple feet in front of her. There lied a zombie, an arrow in its head. Looking around showed a few more zombies – in the same position as the first – lying around the campsite. Axel walked over to the one closest to the group and put his foot on its chest, reaching down to pull the arrow out.

Looking the arrow over he said, "Well, I'm not entirely sure what to make of this."

"It seems like someone's protecting us," Sora said.

"Why would someone do that?" Demyx questioned. "And from afar, why not come to us?"

"I dunno," Axel answered. "Let's not wonder too much about it." With that he dropped the arrow to the ground and went to get his bag and gun.

"What if it's the person who's been following us?" Demyx asked his friend. "Maybe they're trying to say something without being seen. Apologize maybe?"

"Even so," the redhead started, "I'm not gonna forgive them. They've made getting here harder than it should have. Now come on, let's go to the town."

Demyx went to argue but instead sighed and got his own things, following after Axel. By the time he caught up to his friend they were far down the main trail, the campsite out of sight. After a couple minutes of silence, the blonde asked, "What's wrong? You seemed to have woken up in a bad mood."

"I did not," Axel snapped, then stopped himself. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Look, I'm sorry I seem in a bad mood. I'm not really. I'm just irritated by this person following us."

"Why though?" Demyx asked. "It doesn't seem to be doing us harm anymore and for all we know this could be someone completely different. Like Sora said, they seem to be _helping_ us."

"I don't care if they're helping," Axel said. "Riku thinks we're trouble for joining his group and I don't want Roxas to end up thinking the same thing."

"So this is really just about wanting some guy you just recently met to have good thoughts about you and fall for you?" Demyx asked, putting the pieces together. "Axel, this is not the time for this. This isn't the time to try and get Roxas to fall for you. This isn't the time for love."

"Says the one who was the first to start anything love related with anyone," Axel said harshly and put a finger to the blonde's chest.

Glaring, Demyx pushed way the other's hand. "And look where it got me!" he cried out then regained himself. "It was a mistake, to allow myself to get so attached to him. I just don't want the same for you."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you then. This is all we have left, all I have left." With that he turned and started down the trail again, expecting to hear his friend's footsteps follow. Instead he heard Demyx walk in the other direction after asking one more question which had been unanswered by the redhead. He kept walking to the town, all the while thinking of what Demyx asked before leaving.

"_So do I mean nothing to you now?"_

* * *

Demyx decided not to go back to the campsite and instead wandered off into the woods down a second trail. The trail led to a small opening – too small to be used for camping – with a few more trails leading in different directions. There was a tree stump cut flat, short, and even in the middle and with a sigh Demyx went to go sit down on it. He rested his chin in his hands, his elbow on his knees.

Things were not going well and didn't seem to be better anytime soon. He was already upset about Zexion's death and the fact he did let himself get too attached. Even if nothing had happened between the two he'd still be upset, but not as much. And the fact Zexion had returned his feelings didn't help much. Demyx really didn't want the same thing happen to Axel if Roxas does end up with him. At the thought of the redhead Demyx sighed once again, sad by the fact that his friend hadn't said anything to answer him. Maybe he didn't mean anything anymore.

He wished he could just take a break from the world.

Just then a loud noise made Demyx look up from the ground. Through the trees he could see a figure dressed in all black standing in the short distance. He couldn't see their face since their hood was pulled over, but from body structure he could they were a male.

As Demyx looked the other over, trying to find a hint of any kind, he tilted his head. The boy in black mirrored his movement, causing his hood to move. The movement of the hood allowed some light to cast onto the boy's face, showing a leather mask that covered his mouth and a blue eye, the other barely visible in the shadows of the hood. After pausing to look at the boy's practically visible face, Demyx noticed that they held a bow in one hand and had arrows strapped to their back.

Standing up, Demyx stepped towards where the other stood. In turn the boy took an abrupt step back. Demyx tried to walk closer only to have the other continue to step away with each step the blonde took. Demyx then picked up his pace as to try and get near the other but failed as the boy turned and started to run. Demyx ran after him, wanting to be able to ask them why they had done what they had and maybe find out who they are.

After running through the trees for a minute or two, Demyx tripped over a tree root and fell. He had expected that the boy would have kept going and leave him, but instead when he pushed himself up on his hands and knees, Demyx saw the other standing near him. The hood still covered his face with shadows so Demyx was unable to see anything except the slight shine of their eyes. The blonde remained still and watched as the other pulled out a small notepad and pen from their pocket and proceeded to write something down.

When they were done writing, they turned the notepad to Demyx. '_Your left hand is in poison oak,'_ was all that was written down. After reading it, Demyx looked down to his hand and seeing that it was touching poison oak, he jumped to his feet and looked his hand over.

"Damn it," he muttered to himself. "I forget how to treat this," he said, trying to remember all the while making sure not to touch his clothes with his left hand. At the sound of writing he looked back over to the boy.

'_Try mud,' _Demyx read once the notepad was shown to him.

"Right," he said and made a mental note to get mud on his hand when he gets back to the campsite. "So, can you speak?"

The boy paused before writing. After a short while he turned the notepad to Demyx. _'Yes, but I'm not allowed to talk to you. This isn't talking though.'_

"I guess so," Demyx said slowly. "Why aren't you allowed to talk to me?"

'_I just can't.'_

"But," Demyx started but was interrupted as three gunshots were heard. The boy moved to leave, but paused to write something down. Tearing off the paper from the notepad, he dropped it to the ground and turned to run. Kneeling down, Demyx picked up the paper and read it. _'I gotta go.'_

Sighing, he put the paper in his pocket and walked the way he had come. It didn't take long to get back to the opening he had been before chasing the boy and from there he went down the trail that would lead him back to the campsite. When he got there he noticed that Axel hadn't gotten back yet. He ignored that and any thoughts of the redhead as he walked to get a water bottle from his bag and then over to a clear spot. Opening the bottle, he poured the water out onto the dirt.

He ignored the others as he reached down and put the mud onto his left hand. Once that was done he went into the tent he had slept in and lied down.

* * *

Demyx had fallen asleep and it seemed no one bothered to wake him up. Instead he woke up on his own. Sitting up, he reached to rub his eye but stopped at the feeling on his hand. Confused, he looked at his hand and saw the dried mud there then remembered what had happened – the fight with Axel, chasing the boy with the bow and arrows, getting his hand in poison oak, and so on. With a sigh the blonde moved to get out of the tent. Once he was out he stood and rubbed his hands together to get as much mud he could off his left hand.

After doing that he looked up and noticed it was dark out. Looking around he could only spot Riku and Sora sitting by the campfire which seemed to be dying down. Walking over to the fire he sat down on the log next to the one the couple was on.

"Where is everyone?" Demyx asked somewhat quietly seeing as Sora was asleep against Riku's shoulder.

"The girls are asleep and Axel and Roxas went somewhere to talk," the silverette answered.

"Oh," the blonde said under his breath, remembering what Axel had said about Roxas.

"Are you okay?" Riku asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"There just seemed something off about you today," Riku said.

"It's nothing," Demyx replied. "How about you two go to sleep. I'll keep watch."

"Okay, thanks," Riku said and stood up, supporting Sora at his side as the brunette woke up slightly at the movement. "We'll be leaving in the morning so be ready."

Demyx nodded to himself and watched as Riku took Sora into the tent. He then remained on the log as he watched the fire grow smaller. Not wanting to lose warmth, he got up and got a few pieces of wood to put into the fire. After building the fire back up, Demyx sat back down and sighed. With nothing else to do, he pulled out the paper he had put in his pocket and looked over the handwriting. Maybe if he memorized it, it could help him find out who the boy was.

After looking it over for probably the tenth or so time, the blonde tossed the paper into the fire and watched as it disappeared.

* * *

Walking down the hall, the sound of music could be easily heard. The boy stopped by the door it was coming out of as to listen closer to it. It sounded familiar, yet he couldn't pinpoint it. He stood next to the open door as he listened, completely unaware of the person inside the room.

"Hey!" a voice barked from the doorway, causing the boy to jump. He turned to the woman standing there but didn't say anything. "What are you doing here? You need something?" she asked and leaned against the doorframe.

"I, uh," he started. The woman raised an eyebrow and he continued, "The song that was playing, can I borrow it?"

"Is that all?" she asked. The boy nodded in answer. The woman turned and went back into her room. Opening her CD player she took out the CD and went back to the door. Handing it to the boy she said, "Here, take it. I never liked it anyway." Once the boy took the CD, she slammed her door closed.

Turning away from the door, he started down the hall again and headed for the room he had been given. When in the room he put the CD down on the desk and went to the closet where he had been told he could find most of what he needed. He hoped that if the woman he got the CD from had a CD player than maybe there'd be one in his closet. After looking around he found one on a shelf behind other things. He took it out of the closet and set it on the desk next to the CD.

Seeing that there wasn't a cord, the boy figured it was battery powered. Pushing the power button turned it on and the boy opened it to put the CD in. When he closed it, it took about half a minute for the first song to play. Not being the song he had heard, he skipped it until he found the right one. Once he did find the right song he sat down in the chair and listened. When the song ended he pushed the button to go back and replay it. He wanted to know why it sounded familiar.

It was late, he could tell by looking out his window. He should be asleep by now, he usually was. Instead he remained seated at the desk listening to the same song over and over. Eventually he fell asleep while listening to the music, resting his head on his folded arms that had been on the desk. That night he had a strange dream of dancing in a restaurant.

* * *

Reviews?


	9. Chapter 9

Guard duty was a complete bore. There were four guard towers – one at each corner of the building – and each one had two guards in them. The guards took turns rotating towers each day. Either way it was never fun on guard duty. Nothing exciting happened.

Today the boy was in one of the front towers, watching the woods for any sign of zombies. His pistol was held limply in his hand as he stood bored. His partner was talking but his words were lost on the boy. The only thing running through the boy's mind was the song he kept thinking of. It was stuck in his head but he didn't care.

He didn't want to be there stuck in the guard tower doing nothing. He wanted to run for some odd reason. Maybe it was because he hadn't run for so long or maybe it was because he wasn't allowed to run. Turning around he quickly left the tower, ignoring his partner's call after him. He knew they'd send someone to come after him, but he didn't care about that. Instead he just ran as far into the woods as he could.

* * *

By the time morning came the group was already ready to leave the campsite. They gathered their things and left, leaving the camping tents where they were. Riku led them down a trail that would take them to the institute. There were plenty of zombies along the way and thankfully while Axel went to town he had also managed to get silencers for most of their guns so they didn't make too much noise. Axel hadn't talked to Demyx since their last discussion and instead stayed close to Roxas, talking to the smaller blonde.

Demyx stuck by Xion's side and remained quiet other than when the girl asked him something. She was a really sweet girl and it saddened Demyx that she had to be part of their situation. Despite that she still smiled. Demyx wondered why she could still be happy. He thought maybe it was because she was still with her brothers and friends while Demyx and Axel had lost their families and friends when it all started. It also seemed –from what Demyx knew – that she hasn't gone through much yet. Her group had hidden in the cement room they had found them in and remained there until the others came along.

The group was in small chatter – hushed voices from Axel and Roxas, giggles and small laughs from Kairi and Namine, curious questions from Sora to Riku – when the sound of running was heard. Stopping on the trail, everyone quieted and turned to look from where the sound was coming from. Off to the side stood the boy Demyx had seen in the woods the previous day except this time he was empty handed, no bow or arrows. He was dressed the same as before, his face covered by the shadows the hood casted. His chest was moving rapidly as if he had been running for a long time.

Demyx noticed blood on the boy's left hand, but it didn't seem he had touched blood. It looked more like it was coming down his arm. Looking more closely, the blonde saw that the left sleeve of the black hoodie was just barely a shade darker from blood. There didn't seem to be damage to the clothes so Demyx was a bit confused as to how the boy got hurt. Demyx moved to go over and see if the boy was okay, but stopped as another figure, dressed the same as the first, suddenly came to the boy's side.

"Stay away," they said in a harsh voice, holding a gun pointed at Demyx in one hand while their other hand went to support the boy.

Stepping forward, Axel took his own gun and pointed it at the man who spoke. "Who are you?" he asked. "Tell us."

"If you're smart you'll find out soon enough," was all the man said before pulling an unlit Molotov from his sweatshirt pocket along with a small lighter. Demyx saw the boy reach and try to stop the other but he was easily ignored. As he lit the rag the others were already moving away down the trail. Tossing it, the man quickly picked up the boy and turned to run.

The fire quickly covered the leaves and sticks on the ground and up the nearby trees. It didn't take long for the fire to jump from leaf to leaf and branch to branch. Luckily the group was able to get out of reach before the flames could touch them. They started down the trail again quickly, Demyx only pausing to pick up Xion not wanting to risk her falling behind.

Once they needed to catch their breath they stopped and slowed their pace since they were now mostly away from the fire. They continued to walk down the trail and Demyx set Xion back on her own feet. The other girls fell into a quiet conversation and Sora picked up on his questions, this time seeming more worried than curious.

Demyx remained quiet like he had been before. He was actually a bit worried about the boy and wondered if he was okay. He figured the other person would take care of him so he should be fine. Then again Demyx didn't have a real reason to worry. It's not like he knew the boy.

As they walked Demyx was able to pick up on some of Axel's conversation with Roxas behind him. Roxas had asked if the two were the ones who had previously followed Axel and Demyx and the redhead replied with a 'maybe' and said that if they were he'd get back at them for causing them trouble. Demyx thought that his friend was overreacting about the whole being followed thing. Nothing bad came from it other than losing Zexion but that wasn't their stalker's fault. At least not that he knew of.

Before he knew it Demyx stood at the edge of the woods with the others. Across a small open dirt field stood a building with high gates and guard towers. People could be easily seen in the towers and Demyx momentarily wondered if they would be able to get in easily. He was gonna ask his thoughts aloud but was unable to as Riku said, "Let's go."

The group silently walked from the woods to the front gates which opened as they approached. They slowly walked through and down the stone path that led to the main doors of the institute. In front of the doors stood a man with blonde hair wearing a white lab coat.

"Welcome," he said and opened his arms in a welcoming gesture. "We've been expecting you."

* * *

After being welcomed by the man the group was led by two men to rooms where they could rest. Demyx was held back by the blonde man and instead was taken to a room that resembled a small living room. He was told to take a seat and he chose to sit on the couch. The man didn't sit down and remained standing near an armchair.

There was a coffee table in front of the couch and on top was a cup, steam coming out from it. Demyx picked the cup up and looked at it. Seeing that it was hot chocolate he hesitantly took a sip as to not burn his lips or tongue. He watched the man with his eyes as he drank, willing him to speak.

That not working, Demyx pulled the cup away from his lips and spoke. "So who are you and what did you mean by 'we've been expecting you?'"

"My name's Vexen," the man said. "As for your other question, we'll explain later. For now I'd like to ask you a few things."

"Okay," Demyx answered.

"Tell me," Vexen started. "Have you lost someone close recently?"

Demyx paused before answering. His mind instantly went to Zexion but he didn't want to talk or think about that. "Yes, my mother," he said instead. "I lost her when this all started."

"How unfortunate," the man said. "Is that all? You haven't lost anyone else? Say, more recently?"

"Yes," Demyx admitted. He was a bit confused by the man's questions so far. "Why do you ask?"

"Only that it's possible to lose someone at any time these days," Vexen said and waved his hand in the air. "You have quite a big group of people with you. That can be dangerous you know. It makes for a bigger target."

"We weren't originally together. At first it was just me and two others. We met the rest along our way here," Demyx explained.

"So you all were coming here?"

"Yes, one of us had said it'd be a good place to go and we all agreed."

"Well feel free to make yourselves at home," Vexen said. "I'll show you to a room to rest." With that he turned and went to the door, holding it open and waiting for Demyx. Setting his cup down on the table, Demyx stood up and walked out the door. Vexen then led him down the hall and a few others until they reached a door. Gesturing to the door Vexen said, "This will be your room while you're here. I'll come back to get you once lunch is prepared."

Demyx watched as the man walked away until he turned a corner and was out of sight. For some reason Demyx got an odd feeling from the man, as if he was hiding something. Or maybe it was just the creepy vibe he got from him. Ignoring it, Demyx opened the door and went into the room.

The room was very plain. It had a single bed against the opposite wall of the door but pushed into the corner. A desk and chair were pushed up against the side wall and there were two other doors which Demyx figured led to a closet and bathroom. The room was dimly lit by the window and if not for the light it'd look very grey in there.

With a sigh Demyx put his things down by the door and went over to lie on the bed. Lying on the bed he put an arm over his eyes and kicked his shoes off then to the floor. He remained there, thinking of what to do next or what might happen. How long would they stay here? Forever? Or will they leave and go somewhere else? Were they in any kind of danger here? As far as he knew this place might be the safest they have. It seemed secure and well guarded.

It'd be nice to stay and get the feeling of a normal life back again, but even if they did it'd sure to be too good to be true. A zombie apocalypse was more stressful and difficult than Demyx originally thought; then again he was never really prepared for it. Demyx then wondered if they could get out of their situation – have most zombies around them gone and a permanent place to stay – and then just live on. They'd most likely have to reproduce to populate the area again – that is if there aren't any other people around. And since it seemed just about each of the boys were gay one would have to take one for the team. Or maybe someone was bisexual and the others just don't know it yet.

Now he was just thinking too much ahead. Demyx wanted to get his mind off things. Sleep wasn't an option since he wasn't tired. Getting off the bed he went over to one of the doors and opened it to reveal a bathroom. Curious, he went over to the shower and tested it by turning the knob on. Water started pouring out and Demyx eagerly stepped back to undress. Once completely undressed he stepped under the water, pausing to adjust the temperature to warm.

He ran his hands through his hair to get it as clean as he could and used the available bar of soap to wash off the rest of his body. After cleaning himself over again he turned the water off and stepped out, grabbing the towel hanging on the wall. He quickly dried himself off then left the bathroom to get clothes from one of his bags. He put the clothes on then put the towel across his shoulders. Going back into the bathroom he got the clothes he changed out of and went to put them in the bag.

As he went to go back to the bed, Demyx heard a knock on the door. He didn't bother to stop as he called out a quick 'Yeah?' and continued going to the bed. It couldn't be time for lunch already. He heard the door open and Vexen's voice say, "There's someone I think you should talk to."

Confused to as who Demyx should talk to, he turned around to look at the man and the person standing beside him. At the sight of the second person, Demyx's breath caught and his heart stopped.

"Zexion?"

* * *

Reviews? c:


	10. Chapter 10

At the sound of his name, Zexion's eyes widened at the recognition, not having known his own name since he woke up strapped to the metal bed. He blinked at Demyx then hung his head down to hide his eyes. Vexen excused himself and left, closing the door behind him. Zexion kept his head down as to avoid looking at the other. He heard slow footsteps come closer to him and his shoulders tensed.

"Zexion?" Demyx repeated and came to a stop in front of the boy. Then as the other's shoulders started to shake slightly the blonde asked, "Zexion? Are you okay?"

"That's my name, right?" Zexion asked and it seemed he was having trouble speaking.

"Yes," Demyx answered slowly. "Zexion?" he said again more concerned as he tried to lean down and make eye contact. "Is there something wrong?" He didn't get an answer from Zexion. Instead the boy silently stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Demyx.

"I'm sorry," Zexion said into his shirt. "I don't remember much."

"How about what happened?" Demyx asked. "How are you here? We all saw you get bit."

Zexion pulled away and shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. All I know is that I woke up in Vexen's lab with no memory."

"Wait, so you don't remember anything about us?" Demyx asked sadly.

Zexion blinked at him before quickly going up on his toes and kissing the blonde's cheek. "Even though it's vague, I've been having some memory return now and then," he said with a small smile. Just then Demyx suddenly leaned down and kissed him roughly on the lips, catching him off guard and causing him to lean back with the force that was put on him. Not waiting for permission, Demyx pushed his tongue into the other's mouth as he wrapped his arms around Zexion's waist.

The blonde received a small moan from the boy in his arms as he used his tongue to play with the other's. Zexion slowly started to kiss back, memories of when Demyx had first kissed him rushing back. He put his arms around the blonde's neck, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. Demyx took one hand and ran it up the other's side keeping his other hand on Zexion's lower back to keep him close. With the hand on the boy's side, Demyx took the zipper on the black sweatshirt he was wearing and pulled it down until it was completely open.

He reached down as to put his hand under Zexion's shirt but found that he wasn't wearing one. Breaking the kiss, Demyx glanced down to look at Zexion's revealed skin then took his hand and trailed it down his chest. Zexion's breath hitched at the touch and his hands went up into Demyx's hair. He pulled the blonde back into another kiss just as Demyx grasped the hem of his pants, his fingers slipping under the clothing, and pulled him closer.

Just then knocking was heard on the door, causing the two to pull away. "Lunch must be ready," Zexion said. "You should go. I can stay and wait for you here if you'd like."

"Aren't you going to come?" Demyx asked.

Zexion shook his head. "I ate earlier," he said and took the edge of his sweatshirt, zipping it back up.

"Okay," Demyx said then leaned over to kiss the other's cheek. "See you later." With that he turned away and went to the door. Opening it he stepped out into the hall where Vexen was waiting. The older blonde led him down the hall until they got to a dining room. Everyone else was there and by the looks of it they had also took advantage of the showers. Demyx took the empty seat beside Axel as Vexen went to sit by a pink haired man.

Demyx looked at the group of people he didn't know. Along with the pink haired man, there was a man with a big build and bronze hair who Demyx instantly decided not to get angry. Another man with long black hair with white streaks pulled back into a ponytail had an eye patch over his right eye and scar on his left cheek. Seated next to him was a woman with short blonde hair. Demyx felt that all of them were intimidating and looked away, instead facing his plate.

On his plate was a piece of steak, a fork and knife on either side of it. Beside the plate was a glass of water. Demyx gingerly picked the glass up and took a few sips before putting it back down. As he took his fork and knife in either hand, Vexen spoke, breaking the silence.

"Did all go well with him?" he asked Demyx.

Confused then realizing what the man meant, Demyx answered, "Uh, yeah, just fine." He could feel the heat go to his cheeks and looked down at his plate to try and hide it. It didn't work though.

"Seems like it went more than just fine," he heard the woman say with a life.

"Vexen," the pink haired man said and Demyx glanced up. "I thought you were going to keep your experiments on the down low."

"Experiment?" Demyx questioned. "What did you do to him?" he asked Vexen, narrowing his eyes.

"Nothing," the man answered simply. "I merely saved his life."

Demyx decided not to question anything else and started to cut the steak on his plate. Axel leaned over and asked what had happened and Demyx answered with 'nothing' before taking a bite of the steak. Other than Axel talking with Roxas at his side and Vexen with the pink haired man – whose name Demyx picked up from their conversation – it was quiet for the rest of the meal. By the time Demyx was finished eating most of the others at the table were gone, leaving him with Roxas and Axel.

Setting his fork and knife down on the plate, Demyx stood up and pushed in his chair. He went to the door to leave and once he was back in the hall Axel and Roxas had caught up to him. "Okay, so what's up?" the redhead asked.

"Yeah, what were you talking about at lunch?" Roxas asked. "You met someone here?"

"Yes," Demyx answered. He continued down the hall, not having trouble with which way he was going since he memorized it both the times he went down the halls. Once he got to the door he remembered as his, he stopped walking and turned to the two. "See ya," he said and opened the door just enough to step in. He closed the door then locked it. Looking around the room he saw Zexion laying down on the bed, his eyes opening to look at Demyx.

"Hey," the blonde said with a smile and went over to the bed. He lied down beside Zexion and pushed his hair out of his eyes.

"Why'd you lock the door?" Zexion asked.

"So no one can interrupt us," Demyx answered and kissed the other while gently pushing him to his back. He unzipped the sweatshirt for the second time today and ran his hands over Zexion's chest. As his hands roamed the other's body, Demyx moved his lips from Zexion's and to his jaw. He continued down his neck, stopping to suck at the part where his neck met his shoulder. As he went to move, Zexion took his own hands that had found their way around Demyx's neck to the blonde's shoulders and pushed him away slightly.

"Be careful with my shoulder," he said. Demyx pulled away a bit and looked at the boy's shoulder. Slowly, he reached up and moved the sweatshirt off the shoulder to reveal a white square bandage. It took only a second to realize that was where Zexion had gotten bit.

Demyx gently placed a kiss on Zexion's shoulder then lied back down next to him. Wrapping his arms around Zexion he pulled him close and held him. "I love you," he said and kissed Zexion's forehead.

"Love you too," Zexion replied and wrapped his arms around Demyx. They remained like that until Vexen came back to get them for dinner. Zexion didn't go with them to the dining room, instead leaving through another door. When dinner was over the two met back at Demyx's room and lied down until they fell asleep.

* * *

In the morning, Demyx woke up to an empty bed. He got up from the bed and went to the bathroom. Instead of taking an entire shower he undressed himself and used a wash cloth to wash his body with water from the sink. He dried himself off then put his clothes on. Since there wasn't anything else to really do he left the room and wandered down the halls.

He had no idea where Zexion or anyone else of his group would be and he wasn't really up to asking someone. Eventually he came across someone in the halls after not seeing anyone for the majority he was out of his room. Slowly he walked up to the man with the eye patch and scar.

"Excuse me," he said to get the man's attention. Once he had he asked, "Have you seen Zexion?"

"Who?" the man asked. "Oh right. Keep forgetting that's his name. He went hunting with Marluxia. Should be back anytime soon. Though, now that I think about it, he probably shouldn't have gone hunting. He already tore his stitches last time he was out."

"Tore his stitches?" Demyx asked.

"Yeah, Marluxia brought him back here with blood running down his arm," the man explained. "He didn't seem fazed though. Weird kid." With that he walked away, not waiting for Demyx to say anything.

Demyx stood there, confused. "Blood," he mused. "Down an arm..." For some reason the picture the words made seemed familiar, but he couldn't think of what. Just then he remembered that the man had mentioned the woods and an image of the boy Demyx saw filled his mind. "Shit," he muttered to himself then turned and ran down the hall to where he hoped the others' rooms were.

While running down the halls, he saw Axel step out of a room and quickly ran to his side. "Axel!" he called before getting to his friend. As he got to him he grabbed the redhead's shoulders as to stop himself so he wouldn't run pass him.

"What Demyx?" Axel asked.

"Where's the room Xion's in?" the blonde asked.

"Why?"

"Because I need Zexion's backpack!" Demyx exclaimed.

"What for?" Axel questioned.

"Please stop asking questions and tell me," Demyx said.

"Okay, calm down," Axel said and put his hands up in front of him. "Her room's this way, come on," he said and started down the hall. It didn't take long to get to the room and when Axel opened the door Demyx quickly went in and looked for the bag. He found it on the floor by the door and quickly went over to it and opened the front pocket. "So what's this about?" Axel asked.

Demyx didn't answer him, too busy pulling out the picture of Zexion's sister and looking the back over. He looked the words over then thought back to when the boy in the woods wrote on the notebook in a way to talk to him. It was Zexion's handwriting on those notes. "Shit," he said to himself again.

"Dem?" Axel asked and went to his friend's side. "What's that?" he asked and took the picture from the blonde's hands. Confused he looked back to Demyx for an explanation."Dem?"

"It was him the whole time?" Demyx asked aloud more to himself. "But he doesn't know archery, does he?"

"I do," he heard Zexion say. Demyx quickly looked in the direction of his voice and saw him leaning against the doorway, dressed in the clothes the boy in the woods wore, except with the hood pulled down. He had arrows strapped to his back and a bow in one hand. "'Bout time you figured it out."

"Hold on," Axel said and slowly stood up. "You're alive, how?"

"I dunno," Zexion answered with a shrug. "Ask Vexen."

"Was it really you the whole time we were in the woods?" Demyx asked, standing up and walking to stand in front of Zexion.

"Yes," he said. "Believe it or not but I actually ran off during guard duty to go find you, but Marluxia was sent after me."

"So it was Marluxia who set the fire?" the blonde asked.

Zexion nodded. "He did it to slow you guys down. He knew you were coming to the institute and I wasn't allowed to be revealed to you yet."

"He knew we were coming here?" Axel asked. "How? Did you tell him?"

"No," Zexion said. "I woke up with amnesia so I wouldn't have known anything to tell him. I didn't even know my name until Demyx said it. Anyway, he knew you were coming because he was the one following us from the start."

* * *

Yay! Zexion is alive! Did you guys really think I'd kill a main character who's also in the main pairing? And he does have a second side effect other than the amnesia. It isn't fun and will come in a later chapter. Feel free to guess.

Reviews?


End file.
